The Painting of Liu Baomin
In ccomparison to his previous series of works, "Big Stage", which were filled with life-like depictions of reality, the series "Extreme Illusion" by Liu Baomin cast doubts itself. This series is a visual account which opposes the sense of reality, and therefore the paintings of Liu Baomin portray everything that happened and his happening in the world as nothing but a sense of void
What the artists portray is nether his inner self nor the objects themselves; instead what he depicts in his work is an intermediate layer between self and object, an element similar to the visual iconic medium of frosted glass. Liu Baomin is concerned with the existence of the images themselves: letting forms peel off from the objects, signifying the existence of the images themselves. What the images by Liu Baomin portray is not the appearance of images themselves; on the contrary, the artist tries to let the pictorial nature become a symbol for the personal experience. In other words through the use of images he portrays the experience of alienation of our epoch
Self-alienation is the product of a "self" set in a consumerist society and in a materialistic system; from a social point of view, self-alienation occurs when extremely objectified daily life turns into something extremely unreal. This phenomenon is not expressed in the paintings of Liu Baomin in the form of social critism, but in the form of the appearance of a "Self" resulted from a visual experience. This endows Liu Baomin's two series of works with a radical change: extreme reality becomes the portrayal of something unreal
1968
Born in in Xian, Shanxi Province, China
1989
Graduated from the Xian Academy of Fine Arts with a degree in oil painting, Xi'an, China
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2008
Extreme Illustion, Yan Arts Center, Beijing, China
2007
Extreme Illusion•Oil Paintings by Liu Baomin, Yan Arts Center, Beijing, China
Solo Exhibition, Maeght Galerie
2005
Extreme Illusion Solo Exhibition, Wan Fung Art Gallery, Beijing, China
2004
Solo Exhibition, Gallery on Old Bailey, Hong Kong
2003
Solo Exhibition, Wan Fung Art Gallery, Beijing, China
Solo Exhibition, Gallery on Old Bailey, Hong Kong
2001
Solo Exhibition, Wan Fung Art Gallery, Beijing, China
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016
Singapore Contemporary Art Show(Asia Contemporary Art Show Singapore), Singapore
2015
Soemo Fine Arts Collection Exhibition，Soemo Fine Arts, Beijing, China
Asia Contemporary Art Show Hong Kong 2015, Hong Kong
2014
Asia Contemporary Art Show Hong Kong 2014, Hong Kong
Affordable Art Fair Singapore 2014, Singapore
2011
SH Contemporary Art Fair 2011, by Soemo Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2010
Beyond The Broken Skin, Soemo Fine Arts, Beijing, China
To Live on Ourselves in Three Aspects, Zhuzao Art Museum, Beijing, China
2009
Image China-City Flag, Xi'an, China
ARTPARIS Galerie Loft, Paris, France
60-70-80 Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Castle Art Museum, Tours, France
2008
Art Beijing, Beijing, China
2007
Art Beijing, Beijing, China
Glamorous Dolls, Zhengda Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Living in Songzhuang, Songzhuang Art Museum, Beijing, China
2006
China International Gallery Exposition CIGE, Beijing, China
Songzhuang Arts Factory Open Exhibition, Beijing, China
2005
Spring Art Salon, Hong Kong
The Art of Time Group Touring Exhibition in Beijing-Xi'an-Guangzhou-Haerbin, Organized by Switzerland Movado Watch Company.
Passion and Force Group Exhibition, Yan Club Arts Center, Beijing, China
Ren+Ba-Group Exhibition, Yan Arts Center, Beijing, China
2004
Touring Exhibition of Oil Paintings, Wan Fung Art Gallery, Beijing, China
Group Exhibition of Freedom of Touching the Body and Soul, Beijing 798, China
2003
The Third Shaanxi Oil Painting Exhibition, Xi'an, China
The Third Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition, Beijing, China
Group Exhibition of Liu Baomin and Yinkun, Wan Fung Art Gallery, Beijing, China
2002
China Art Expo, Beijing, China
2001
Shanghai Art Fair, Shanghai, China
Speech of Two Persons, Wan Fung Art Gallery, Beijing, China
1999
Beijing Art Fair, Beijing, China